In a match with major Big Ten Tournament implications, Northwestern outplayed in-state rivals Illinois for the vast majority of the 90 minutes and hung on for a 1-0 victory.
The Wildcats (7-3-6, 3-2-4 Big Ten) out-shot the Fighting Illini (12-3-1, 5-3-1 Big Ten) 17-4 and capitalized via an unlikely source — a header from 5’4 graduate student midfielder Kelsey Kwon, who scored her first career collegiate goal after five years with the program and 47 appearances.
“I would not have placed money on the game winner coming from the head of Kelsey Kwon,” coach Michael Moynihan said postmatch. “I say that in jest, she’s actually been one of the people that’s really stepped up in terms of how she challenges, and you’ve seen her winning a lot of headed balls … so I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise.”
From the opening whistle, NU applied an onslaught of pressure, peppering the Illinois goal. Within 15 seconds, sophomore winger Kate Hennen latched onto a long ball over the top and teed up sophomore forward Kennedy Roesch, whose first-time, side-footed effort was saved by Illini goalkeeper Izzy Lee at the near post.
In the 3rd minute, junior winger Megan Norkett darted down the left to the byline, where her square ball across goal found Kwon in the six-yard box. Kwon poked it towards goal, but a deflection diverted it just wide of the post.
The ’Cats took the ensuing corner short, creating space for Roesch on the edge of the area. Roesch fired a piledriver that was headed for the bottom-left corner before Lee flung across her goal to parry wide.
Three minutes had not yet elapsed, and NU had already attempted four shots, with two put on target.
“They were pretty charged up for this game,” Moynihan said. “They knew it was a big one in terms of making a case for the Big Ten Tournament. They knew it was also a big in-state rivalry. It didn’t take much to get them fired up for it.”
That dominance paid dividends before long, as the ’Cats struck first in the 15th minute.
Senior midfielder Caterina Regazzoni lofted an outswinging cross from the right half space just outside the penalty area, provoking Lee to come drifting off her line. Kwon attacked the delivery with force, colliding with Lee as she arrived at the ball first and glanced it into an empty net.
“It was everything,” Kwon said of her goal. “It was such a good team win, and I was happy I was just able to get on the end of it and help the team win.”
NU kept its foot on the gas pedal following the goal, consistently winning the ball back in the Illinois half and generating wave after wave of attacks.
Its best chance for the remainder of the half came through Roesch, who found herself isolated in the left channel but sent a sizzling left-footed strike across goal and just wide of the post.
The ’Cats went into halftime with reason to feel aggrieved at only holding a 1-0 lead.
The second half brought fewer fireworks as NU gradually sank into a deeper block, looking to preserve its lead. Illinois found itself in more attacking positions but seldom threatened freshman goalkeeper Nyamma Nelson’s net.
“We did a much better job managing the lead once we had it,” Moynihan said. “To give up two shots the whole second half when you know the other team is chasing the game, I think says an awful lot about how solid our defense was.”
In fact, as the half wore on, it was NU who looked more likely to find a second goal.
In the 69th minute, Regazzoni got on the end of two consecutive set pieces, the second of which she headed into the side netting from close range. Substitute freshman forward Liz Cardwell raced through on goal in the 80th minute, but saw her finish deflected wide by a recovering defender.
As the ’Cats weathered their guests’ final speculative attempts to get the ball downfield, they sealed their second consecutive win — a first during Big Ten play. NU stayed within the 10-team cut for the Big Ten Tournament, moving up one place to 9th and handing the Illini just their third loss of the season.
The ’Cats head back on the road this weekend as they take on Purdue on Sunday in their penultimate regular season contest. With plenty still to play for as it fights for a place in both the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA Tournament, Kwon expressed confidence that the team is peaking at the right time.
“This year’s team is different,” Kwon said. “We have it every day that we go out and train. It’s special.”
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